For any serious researcher, student, or academic, a literature review is the foundation of your work. Scopus is one of the most powerful tools for finding relevant papers, but manually entering those citations into EndNote is a time-consuming nightmare.

The good news is that Scopus and EndNote are designed to work together. You can export hundreds of citations from your search results and import them into your EndNote library in just a few clicks.

This guide will provide a clear, step-by-step process for bulk exporting from Scopus to EndNote.

Part 1: Exporting from Scopus

This is the first half of the process, where you gather your citations from Scopus and download them in the correct format.

Step 1. Perform Your Scopus Search Log in to Scopus through your institution and conduct your search as you normally would to find the articles you need.

Step 2. Select the Citations You Want to Export Once you have your list of results, you need to select them.

• To select all results on the page: Check the "All" box at the top of the results list.

• To select specific results: Check the individual boxes next to each paper you want.

• To select all results (up to 2,000): You can often choose "Select all" from the dropdown, but it's generally safer to work in batches of 50-100 to ensure a smooth process.

Step 3. Click the "Export" Button After selecting your papers, the "Export" button will become active in the search results menu. Click on it.

Step 4. Choose the Correct Export Format (This is Critical) A pop-up window will appear. This is the most important step in the entire process. Scopus gives you many formats (CSV, BibTeX, etc.).

For EndNote, you must select: "RIS format (for EndNote, Reference Manager)"

If you choose any other format, EndNote will not be able to read the file correctly.

Step 5. Select Your Citation Information The system will ask what information you want to export. For a comprehensive library, we recommend checking all the major fields, such as:

• Citation information

• Abstract & Keywords

• Funding details

• Other information

Step 6. Download the .RIS File Click the final "Export" button. Your browser will download a file with a .ris extension (e.g., scopus.ris). Save this file somewhere you can easily find it, like your Desktop or Downloads folder.

Part 2: Importing into EndNote

Now that you have your .ris file, you need to "teach" EndNote how to read it.

Step 7. Open Your EndNote Library Open the EndNote application on your computer (this guide is for EndNote Desktop) and open the library where you want the citations to go.

Step 8. Go to the "Import" Menu In the top menu, click on: File > Import > File...

Step 9. Configure the Import Options (The Second Critical Step) An import dialogue box will appear. You must configure three things here:

1. Choose...: Click this button and select the scopus.ris file you just downloaded.

2. Import Option: This is where 99% of errors happen. The default is often "EndNote Import." You must click the dropdown menu and select the filter: "RefMan RIS" or "Reference Manager (RIS)"

3. Duplicates: You can leave this as "Import All" or "Discard Duplicates" based on your preference.

Troubleshooting: If you do not see "RefMan RIS" in the dropdown, select "Other Filters..." and find it in the complete list.

Step 10. Click "Import" EndNote will now process the .ris file. In a few seconds, you will see all your selected citations appear in your "Imported References" (or main) library, complete with authors, titles, journal names, years, and abstracts.

Conclusion

You have successfully bulk-exported your Scopus results directly into EndNote. By mastering this simple workflow, you can save hours of manual data entry, keep your reference library organized, and focus on what truly matters: your research.